Tabby Fuchsia

Thursday, 4 September 2014

I have always collected things since I was a child. I've collected everything from beer bottle tops, to brochures, to mini soaps, etc. Nowadays I try to collect only "grown up" things such as: brooches and buttons. Generally things with a purpose, with the exception of my movie ticket stub collection which will never have a purpose but I doubt I will ever stop collecting.

I'm not sure where this urge to collect things came from. I was a hoarder (now in recovery), but I liked to think I was an organised hoarder, and perhaps that's why I felt the need to collect things. No idea!

I thought I would share with you my brooch collection as it is now, in no particular order. I fully expect it will keep growing!

These two were given to me by my boyfriend's family for Christmas last year. The starburst on the left is a vintage 1950's brooch bought from Darling Central in Gold Creek. It's beautiful, and honestly these photos do not do it justice at all! The one on the right is the first of my Erstwilder collection, the Betty Jo Sparrow brooch. I just love it!

The owl was a secret santa gift from our work Christmas party last year. I didn't even have to open it before guessing who it was from! Isn't it the cutest? The second is a gift she gave me recently, which she purchased from Tarryn from Butter and Buntings. It's made from vintage puzzle pieces! How clever.

These two were birthday gifts from my lovely friend Chiara. The left one was given to me a few years ago, and it's beautiful. I remember when I was opening up the cat one on the right I couldn't help thinking "Oh gosh, I hope this is a cat brooch", and what do you know, it was! She knows me well.

I acquired the two above from Fash n Treasure on two separate occassions. The pinup I simply couldn't resist, and am ashamed to admit I can't remember the name of the stall I bought it from! She had many other pinup brooches it was difficult to choose just one! The bee brooch was a little vintage number I scored at a really cheap price. I don't know why I liked it, I just had to have it. I mean, it's a bee!!

The food related brooches are recent additions and were made by Lisa from Urban Charms. I saw her stall at the recent Burlesque Bazaar and was instantly excited! I made the mistake of letting the coke bottle/hotdog one go, so I asked her to make another and she was more than happy to oblige! The pie was originally on a ring, but when I asked her if it was possible to make one as a brooch she fixed it up for me!

These three are all little vintage numbers I have found over the past year or so. The first two I purchased from History Repeats. The 70's era doesn't normally resonate with me, but I just couldn't pass up that butterfly brooch with the little chain connecting them. The flower brooch I adored, and I think it's a shame I haven't worn it all that much! When I saw the second butterfly on Etsy I had to nab it.

I found this Erstwilder flamingo brooch maybe one week after being gifted the swallow brooch. I was buying garden flamingos for a friend when I saw this and couldn't say no. I'd fallen in love with Erstwilder products. Plus, it went with the outfit I had been wearing at the time so I kinda had to buy it, you know? Since then I have bought a few other Erstwilder accessories/jewelry and I have many more on my wishlist!

Finally, these Your Fan Club made by Kate Gabrielle from Scathingly Brilliant pins have been my most recent purchase! I'm so in love with all of these, and I already want more! The only problem I have is figuring out which ones to wear! I tend to wear the Tea Fan Club one to work as we have a little tea club going there in the afternoons (basically we drink tea and gossip). I feel like I should keep them in my bag so they can be interchangeable!

I hope you've enjoyed this little look-see! Currently I'm looking into buying laser-cut perspex off Etsy to turn into brooches as I think that would be really fun!

Thursday, 21 August 2014

I hear a lot of people speak about buyer's remorse when they buy an item they didn't particularly need, paid too much for, or perhaps only bought because it was on sale and not because they really wanted it.

I tend to suffer from quite the opposite on a frequent basis! Non-buyers remorse. I am certain you would have experienced this. It's basically where you window shop for hours, and obsess over this one item you really want. You look at it every day, and you keep it in your shopping cart but everytime you go to buy it you talk yourself out of it.

"No, you really do not need this dress/bag/pair of shoes, etc."
"You already have something similar."
"You should save all of your money."

The list of excuses to NOT buy an item is endless, and by the end of the little conversation in your head you have decided against buying it (yet again), and you repeat this process every day until the dress sells out.

What happens when it sells out? You panic. You finally realise what a mistake it had been to consistently talk yourself out of purchasing it for so long. What is left for you to do? Continue obsessing over the item, because we always need what we can't have, right? Keep looking at the item every day in the hope that it will re-stock. Every now and then you may get lucky, but when you don't all you can really do is begin mourning over this item you never even had. This my friends, is non-buyers remorse.

I thought I'd share some of the recent items from Modcloth I am currently obsessing over but have sadly missed out on:

All of the above items also happen to be from Bea & Dot, which I am totally loving lately! I only have one Bea & Dot dress currently, but hope to have many more!

Thankfully I have gotten lucky with the three below. All had sold out but I was lucky enough to nab them when one came back, it was like it was meant to be! The plaid grad dress by Tulle is certainly one of my favourites, I wear it all the time.

It's a wonder I haven't learnt yet to purchase things before they sell out! My advice to you is this: if you see an item and you're still thinking about it the next day, purchase it! It's important to treat yourself every now and then. We shouldn't make ourselves feel guilty about it!

Have you ever experienced non-buyers remorse? Tell me about it. I'd love to hear from you.

Saturday, 16 August 2014

Hello! I have been pondering where I should begin with my next post for quite a while, and honestly there are so many things I am excited to share with you I had trouble deciding exactly where I should start. I thought maybe I would start with a little bit of label love to ease myself into things, and who better to dedicate this post to than Bernie Dexter.

I can remember the exact moment I first saw a Bernie Dexter dress. One of my favourite roller derby girls, Kitty Savage, was wearing one and I knew from then that I would have to find the dress and buy it for myself. The beautiful Fifi dress in cherry lane print was almost like a dream. The colours, the shape, the bows on the front. I felt like I was meant to see this dress.

I found it at the Darling Central shop in Gold Creek and bought it immediately. What a little treat this was. I'd had the perfect shoes to wear with it too! I was amazed at the fit of this dress, and what a treat to find pockets in it many months afterwards! All of her dresses have hidden lipstick pockets and that is one of the greater things about them.

Since then, I have bought three other Bernie Dexter dress, and there are plenty of others on my wishlist. Sadly, with shipping to Australia it is hard to justify spending $150+ on dresses, but honestly they are well worth the money. The fabric is of such a high quality, and they are really well made. The fit'n'flare style dresses are always so full there is never really a need to wear a petticoat with them (and I never do!). You're meant to dry clean them, but they wash up so well at home there is no need to!

This Wizard of Awesome dress (so named on Modcloth) is my absolute favourite of all the dresses I have ever owned. I have worn it so many times it's difficult to keep track and it's not one I pull out on a regular day! The colours are so vibrant, and the wings on the shoulder are amazing (mind you, they do flop over a lot). I bought this at the same time as the Hide in the Hydrangeas Dress in Pink Noir on Modcloth (my first Modcloth purchases!) and at first it was so difficult to choose which one I preferred. The poppy dress wins purely because of practicality.

The plaid dress I bought for Christmas last year off Modcloth and was so pleased when it arrived in the mail just in time to wear it on the day. I was a bit worried it would show off more cleavage than I am generally comfortable with, but it doesn't. It's just not work appropriate!

Here are a few I have been eyeing off, and hope to eventually find as sadly all of these dresses are no longer available on the Bernie Dexter site. I have an awful habit of window shopping too much, and regretting not purchasing things when I miss out!

If you have thought about buying a Bernie Dexter but were unsure, I say go for it! She has so many styles, and designs, and I just love all the beautiful vibrant and fun patterns! You would definitely be getting your money's worth for sure!

Saturday, 9 August 2014

Some of you may know me as Tabby Fuchsia, others may know me as Sam Woods. I am from Canberra, Australia, born and raised. I have no real desire to live anywhere else. I think my favourite part about Canberra is that everywhere else, no matter where, seems exciting in comparison. It doesn't matter where I go, but when I arrive back in Canberra it feels like home. It's becoming such a great place to live now though!

Mind you, I haven't been to any other countries so it's quite possible I will fall in love with another place, but for now this is where my heart lies. Travelling is something I am really keen to do, but I am actually terrified of it! I've come a long way, a simple bus ride to school used to have me hyperventilating. Now I can go around places in Australia with little unease! I am hoping after a first trip overseas I will be able to overcome my fear of travelling, and fully expect I will become addicted to it!

I am a bit of a movie buff, I tend to go to the cinemas at least once per week so I tend to see most movies not long after they come out. One of my favourite things to do is watch the trailers before films and add any exciting movies to a list which I cross off as I see them. For this reason I get quite upset when I see movies with friends and they insist we go to the shops before the movie starts because we'd "just miss the trailers". My absolute favourite movie would have to be Drop Dead Fred, although I feel like every time I see a great movie I have a new favourite (most recently Guardians of the Galaxy).

Television shows are another interest of mine. There is nothing better than being able to watch five seasons in a row of a television show. I love a good science fiction show, but as with movies, I tend to give anything a go. I have too many favourite shows to pick just one and I swear I have at least ten that would be in my "Top Five" (I know, how does that even work?).

I love a good book. I think it is a bit sad because I don't seem to find as much time to read as I used to. When I was younger my head was constantly in a book. I'd read in between classes and people would be amazed when watching me as I never seemed to bump into anything. I tend to go through periods in life when I am constantly reading, and then won't touch a book for a few months. A problem I have is I am not very good at using book marks so I'm either trying to memorise page numbers or flicking through pages trying to find where I was up to.

My interest in fashion is not something I was born with, or something I developed at an early age. I was a tomboy when I was younger, I guess that was the result of growing up with two brothers. My favourite thing to wear was overalls, and I tried my damnest to get my mother to let me wear converse shoes to my year ten formal (unsuccessfully). I can't really pin a point in time when this started to change for me as it was quite a gradual change. I didn't even really own any dresses until my formal, and now I have too many to fit in my closet.

Discovering vintage inspired clothing was a turning point for me. I felt like I had finally found the perfect style for my body, and the perfect way to express myself physically. Fifties styled clothing is probably the biggest influence, a lot of people often comment on my clothing saying they think I was born in the wrong era. What I love about this style is that it is so classic, and will never really go out of style. I love all the vibrant patterns and flattering shapes. Very inspiring!

So that's a little bit about me! Stay tuned for future posts! I don't really know where I'll be going with this yet, but I'm hoping this will be the beginning of something great!